The World Sindhi Congress (WSC), an organisation involved in Sindh rights advocacy, organised a protest outside the United Nations Human Rights Council headquarters in Geneva to highlight the atrocities of the Pakistan administration on the people of Sindh.
The protest aimed to inform the international community about the ongoing human rights violations against the Sindhi people.
“The protest aimed to inform the UN and the international community about the ongoing human rights violations inflicted upon the Sindhi people by the Pakistani state. The assembly highlighted the extrajudicial murder of a renowned political worker and human rights defender, Mr. Hidayat Lohar, who was gunned down on February 16 in his hometown Nasirabad, Sindh, Pakistan,” the World Sindhi Congress said in a press release.
Moreover, the spotlight was firmly placed on atrocities, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, persecution of religious minorities, and the plundering of the Sindhi people’s resources.
The protest was held on the sidelines of the 55th session of UNHRC in Geneva “Speakers reiterated that Sindhi, Baloch, Kashmiri, and Pashtun people are systematically oppressed by Pakistan, citing numerous instances of heinous crimes.
WSC representatives emphasised that the situation worsens daily.
They further raised the major concerns including, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Sindhi political activists, ethnic cleansing of Sindhi Hindus, colonial-style land grabs by the Pakistan army and their associates, large-scale theft of River Indus waters by Punjab, and the suppression of the Sindhi voice regarding historical, political, and human rights, the press release stated.
The speakers participating in the protest resolutely pointed out that the human rights atrocities occurring with utter impunity in Pakistan, leave the victims with no path to seek justice.
The WSC press release added, “Considering these appalling violations, an earnest plea was made to the UN and the international community to intervene and take effective action to protect the Sindhi nation and prevent further suffering.”
During the protest, General Secretary of WSC Lakhu Lohana urged the UN and the international community to save the Sindhi people from this genocide.
Lohana said, “The persecution, suffering, and ruthlessness of the state of Pakistan and its agencies continues unabated without impunity. They are on a mission of orchestrating genocide upon the Sindhi people. They are taking out land, water, tax, oil, coal, and coastal lines. How will the Sindhi people survive, they want to kill us, and the world should know this. Only they can stop this genocide, hence we request the UN and the international community. To come help and save the Sindhi people from this genocide.”
Hidayat Bhutto a prominent Sindh rights activist and member of the World Sindhi Congress highlighted an incident, stating, “On February 16, a known activist Hidayat Lohar was killed in broad daylight. The culprits were seen by the bystanders and the entire event was recorded in CCTV footage. But the Pakistani state is not even ready to lodge an FIR. The family members of Lohar are protesting to date, firstly they had protested with his dead body, Lohar’s daughters are still fighting to get the case of their father’s death registered but they are still not getting justice.”
While stating names of enforcible disappeared individuals like Aqib Chandio, Insaf Ali Diyo, and Kashif Ali Tagar, Bhutto stated “Thousands like them have disappeared and subjugated, and enforced disappearances are still high in Pakistan. The Pakistani army and the Pakistani administration are committing these crimes with impunity, hence we ask the international community to take action and support us.”
Another protester Fahmeeda Khushk stated that the WSC protests are held every year, demanding strict action against the atrocities inflicted by the Pakistan administration upon the people of Sindh.
Khushk in her statement added, “These atrocities need to stop, the forced land grabbing a halt of enforced disappearance needs to be imposed. If Sindh is separated from Pakistan today we have the resources to manage by ourselves, but Pakistan has taken over our resources which is stopping the development of our land and our people.”
